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Posts with tag swiss

Village Called 'Champagne' Fights For Its Name


A small town in Switzerland is fighting to be able to do something most town's take for granted: put its name on its wine bottles. Despite the fact that the village has been in existence for over 1000 years, and has been producing wine since at least as far back as The Middle Ages, there's a ban in place keeping the town name of 'Champagne' from appearing on its wine and food labels. A deal struck back in 2004 between the European Union and Switzerland (in order to protect the French wine-producing region of the same name) is to blame, and as a result the poor town of 713 residents has been experiencing steady drops in sales and may even lose jobs in the future. The residents are fighting it, but so far to no avail. Poor Champagne.

Rinspeed sQuba Underwater Concept Car


This seemed like a joke at first, but truly Rinspeed, a Swiss company known for their innovative and out-of-the-box designs, has created a car that goes from land to sea in seconds. An all-electric car with one motor for land and two to propel it underwater, this beauty will put the sea in your grasp while riding in style. A salt-resistant interior, on-board breathing apparatus which acts much like scuba gear, open cockpit for safety and viewing pleasure, as well as a laser sensor system for driverless motoring, Rinspeed seems to have thought of it all! Take the sQuba for a spin ... and then a dip. If you are as surprised as I was that this really exists and works underwater check out the gallery below -- you won't believe your eyes.

Gallery: Rinspeed's sQuba Concept Car

Major Impressionist Art Theft Took Just 3 Minutes


Most of us picture art thieves as slinky sleuth types who sneak in under cover of night and quietly disable the alarm system, but apparently that's not what works best in Switzerland. This past Sunday 3 masked men dressed all in black burst into a private museum in Zurich in the middle of the day and took 4 paintings valued at £85 million by simply ripping them off the walls and running. They were in and out of the building and flying down the road in a beater of a white car in less than 3 minutes! Amazing. Sad, and outrageously embarrassing for Switzerland, but amazing.

The truly sad part is that they made off with some major and historic pieces of art: Cézanne's The Boy in a Red Vest, Degas's Viscount Lepic and his Daughters, Monet's Poppies Near Vetheuil, and Van Gogh's Blossoming Chestnut Branches. What a tragedy! I hope they get caught before the art is lost underground forever.

The Best First Class Meals for When You Fly


There are many people in the world who fly frequently and as such are often subject to airline food, despite it's nasty reputation of being nothing but reheated cardboard. Some airlines, however, are seeking to change that in a major way for their first class passengers -- even to the extent for some of having a chef on board (Gulf Airlines) and serving exotic gourmet dishes.

Among others Singapore Airlines offers a choice of Dom Perignon or Krug champagne, several airlines serve caviar as appetizer, and Malaysia Airlines serves their meals on fine china. Would you (or do you) choose your airline based on the first class meal options?

Ventura Watches Baselworld Preview


Ventura, a Swiss company known for its digital watches has two new models they are bringing to Baselworld next month. The first is the v-tec Kappa designed by Swiss architect and designer Hannes Wettstein. It has a titanium case that is put under a vacuum and submitted to high pressures and heat then cooled by liquid nitrogen and then given a liquid glass coating to protect it from scratches. The watches uses Ventura's VEN_04 movement which has a single scrolling cylinder that allows access to all functions. And the watches have an display that uses numbers with 229 segments rather than the basic seven segments for a smoother look. The Kappa will sell for around $2,000.

The v-tec Zeta was designed by Paolo Fancelli, who also designed the v-tec Sigma. The Zeta is meant to be a smaller version of the Sigma to be worn by women or men who want less of a wrist dominator. Some Zeta versions will feature composite-cases, combining Durinox steel and Bakelite-like resin. It uses the same VEN_04 movement caliber with the single scrolling cylinder and sells for around $1,600. Pics of the Zeta and the black version of the Kappa after the jump.

Continue reading Ventura Watches Baselworld Preview

Alabaster Cheese Board

There are two main advantages to using a stone cheese board instead of a wooden one. First, the naturally cooler temperature keeps very soft cheeses together longer, which makes them easier to serve. Second, they are significantly easier to clean than wooden boards, some of which may crack or warp after washings. In addition to those two features, this Mexican Alabaster Cheese Board is cut to resemble a giant wedge of Swiss, and the color of the stone really flatters the design. It measures 10" x 10" and comes with a stainless steel cheese knife. In addition to being a great serving piece, the set would also make a wonderful gift for any cheese-loving friends. Price: $100.

SIGG Skull Bottle

With Halloween coming up, not to mention all the other skull stuff that we've seen lately, it seemed worthwhile to mention this SIGG Skull Bottle. The Swiss-made aluminum bottle is unbreakable, very lightweight and 100% recyclable. The 24-oz. bottles are taste-neutral, so you can store any type of beverage in them. One final feature is that the skull glows in the dark, which might not be a selling point for a lot of adults, but would definitely make it a more appealing Halloween "treat" if you wanted to give the kids something other than candy. Price: $20.

[via The Cool Hunter]

Million Dollar Cellphone

Our friends at Engadet spotted the ultimate in cell phone luxury: a million dollar phone. Made by the Swiss company GoldVish, the phone is made of 18-karat white gold and encrusted with 120-carats of VVS-1 grade diamonds. Of course, the phone is fully equipped with Bluetooth, a 2GB memory, an 8x digital camera, MP3 player, worldwide FM radio and e-mail capability. The company also offers phones in the same line, sans diamonds, in 18-karat yellow, pink and white gold that start at $25,600. Diamonds can be added to any of their other phones, as well.

Jean d'Eve Sectora Watch


Who says a watch dial has to have a 360º dial? The Sectora watch from Jean d’Eve has hour and minute hands that move over a 120º angle. Their latest model is a new automatic version which uses a modified automatic ETA caliber 2892 movement. The case is stainless steel and it has a sapphire crystal. The Jean d'Eve website has a neat animated gif that shows this unique watch in action (when it hits the hour mark it dramatically snaps back to the start).

What's in a Name?

Yeslam Bin Laden, half brother to Osama, dreams of turning his brand into one that carries that same type of international clout as Channel, Dior and Prada one day, though his name is not the least of the obstacles he will have to overcome. Based in Geneva, Switzerland and, according to the Times, cleared of any involvement in 9/11 by the Swiss government, he currently sells a line of relatively upscale goods, including handbags, belts and perfumes in Geneva and parts of the Middle East. Watches are a new addition to his line for spring, but it appears that perfumes are his only online offerings.

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